Girdle or like garment



Sept. 4, 1956 G. M. MALLOY EI'AL GIRDLE OR LIKE GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 11, 1954 Sept. 4, 1956 G. M. MALLOY ETAL GIRDLE 0R LIKE GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1954 United States Patent GIRDLE OR LIKE GARMENT Georgia Myrtle Malloy, Trumbull, Conn., and Seraphina C. La Rue, New York, N. Y., assignors to The Warner Brothers Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application January 11, 1954, Serial No. 403,110 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-37) This invention relates to girdles or like garments and more particularly to apparel of this character intended to support as well as confine the flesh of the wearer.

It is especially desirable that so-called foundation garments, particularly those intended for feminine wear, be unobtrusive. With this in mind, numerous efforts have been made to so construct such garments as girdles or corselets to provide to the maximum possible the effects desired, while at the same time avoiding rendering the garment uncomfortable or obtrusive. An important and highly desired attribute of such garments resides in the extent to which they combine a maximum supporting and confining effect with a minimum of weight, obtrusiveness, and restraint of the movements of the wearer.

it is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide such a garment wherein the desirable characteristics thereof are enhanced while at the same time maintaining simplicity of construction.

Another object is to provide such a garment which is constructed so as to combine with a confining effect a positive lifting or supporting effect which results in greater comfort to the wearer thereof while at the same time incorporating to an enhanced degree simplicity of construction, flexibility, and lightness in weight.

Further objects as Well as advantages of this inven' tion will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof and the drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational View of a girdle intended for feminine wear and shown unstressed;

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a front elevational view thereof showing the garment stressed as when worn.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, girdle is constructed of suitable material woven or knitted as is well known, so as to enhance the resiliency thereof. In the form shown, girdle 10 may be constructed from a single length of such material stitched together along what in the finished garment is the front center vertical line 11 to form a sheath-like tubular garment. This material is stretchable at least horizontally of the wearer due to the inclusion of elastic threads. In addition, the material may, if desired, be stretchable both vertically and horizontally due to elastic threads, such material being commonly referred to in the art as two-way stretch. A plurality of darts or tapered tucks 12 are formed as by folding the material on itself (Figure 2) and suitably stitching the same as at 13. When, as in the present instance, the ends of the material are stitched together along line 11, darts or folds 12 are conveniently formed before the ends are brought together along line 11. The outer surface of the seam is conveniently covered with a ribbon 15. However, the vertical stitching or seam may be located elsewhere than along line 11 or may be omitted, as in the case of seamless tubular material. Darts or folds 12 are preferably formed in the material in such manner that the darts on the rightand left-hand front portions of the girdle are complementarily arranged. In

the preferred embodiment shown, darts or folds 12 form an open V-shaped pattern opening upwards. The darts which form the arms of the Vs conveniently come together along the front center line 11 to form the vertices or closed ends of the Vs and extend outwardly and upwardly.

Normally, when a girdle is worn, the material is tensioned by the body of the wearer both horizontally and vertically. Perhaps because of the open ended construction of such a garment, it tends to be less of a support in the vertical direction and sagging may often occur. However, with girdle 10 constructed as shown, the transverse or horizontal forces developed when the material is stressed laterally are redirected and given a vertically upward component along center line 11 by the inclined darts or folds 12. As shown most clearly in Figure 3, the front central portion of the garment, extending from top to bottom as viewed in Figures 1 and 3, is urged upwards. This upward directed force is imparted to the person of the wearer in the region of the abdomen and serves to substantially augment the support afforded thereto by the garment. Where, as in the present instance, the garment is equipped with suitable fastening means 14 for supporting hosiery, the upward supporting action afforded by the present construction is effective in overcoming at least some of the downward pull exerted by the hosiery.

A comparison of Figures 1 and 3 clearly brings out the eifect which darts or folds 12 have in redirecting the horizontal stress into a vertically upwardly directed force. It should be noted that the enhanced vertical supporting effect is obtained without utilizing anything other than the material of the garment itself, and the use of sti'i'l'eners such as stays or the like is made unnecessary. It may also be noted that even when the sole forces applied to girdle 10 are only horizontally directed, the effect of the present construction is that a portion of the force thus applied is redirected into a vertically upward. force along center line 11.

As previously noted, the girdle 10 may be constructed of two-way stretch material, i. e., material which is stretchable both vertically and horizontally. The darts or folds 12 do not substantially reduce this stretchability of the garment. On the other hand, the arrangement of the darts or folds 12 does, to an important extent, improve the vertical lifting or supporting effect of such material since the supporting effect is derived from redirected horizontal forces.

While the highly desirable upwardly directed forces are developed to some extent at the expense of the horizontal forces, this does not result in any objectionable reduction of the horizontal forces. The closed circular construction in the horizontal planes of the garment facilitates development of such horizontal forces as may be desired.

It is to be understood that various changes may be made in the construction of the garment as may be desired or necessary to fit it for a particular use. For example, darts 12 may be formed in a panel member which is at least stretchable horizontally, the panel memher being stitched or otherwise attached so as to form the front central portion of the garment the remainder of which may be of other suitable material as desired. However, the inclined darts form an essential feature of the present invention. Preferably, darts or folds 12 form about a 45 angle with center line 11 and thus the darts form Vs which open upwardly at about a angle. While the angle of 45 may be deviated from to some extent, it has been found that the best effect is attained when an angle of substantially 45 is used.

The terms and expressions which we have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and we have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed,

What is claimed is:

1. A girdle, comprising portions forming a tightlyfitting body-encircling elastic garment including a front portion, means for urging said front portion upwardly and including a plurality of spaced folds formed in the front portion of said garment and on each side of the center line thereof, said folds being fixed in position along their length and inclined and complementarily arranged about said common vertical center line with the folds on each side of said common center being substantially mutually parallel and extending upwardly away from said common center line, and said front portion being stretchable at least horizontally whereby when the front portion is stretched horizontally forces developed across said front portion have resultant components along the folds and vertical components along the center line which vertical components operate to urge said front portion upwardly.

2. A girdle, comprising portions forming a tightly fitting body-encircling elastic garment the front portion of which being stretchable bilaterally, a plurality of spaced inclined folds formed in the front portion of said girdle and on each side of the center line thereof, said folds being fixed in position along their length and extending upwardly away from and on opposite sides of the vertical center line of said front portion and forming a substantially l -shaped repetitive pattern from substantially the top to the bottom of said front portion, whereby when the front portion is stretched horizontally forces developed across said front portion have resultant components along the folds and vertical components along the center line which vertical components operate to urge said front portion upwardly.

3. A girdle, comprising portions forming a tightly fitting body-encircling elastic garment the front portion of which being stretchable bilaterally, a plurality of spaced inclined folds formed in the front portion of said girdle and on each side of the center line thereof, said folds be ing fixed in position along their length and complementarily arranged on opposite sides of the vertical center line of said front portion and forming a substantially V-shaped repetitive pattern from substantially the top to the bottom of said front portion, said folds each forming with said center line an angle of about whereby when the front portion is stretched horizontally forces developed across said front portion have resultant components along the folds and vertical components along the center line which vertical components operate to urge said front portion upwardly.

4. A girdle, comprising portions forming a tightly fitting body-encircling elastic garment including a front portion, means for urging said front portion upwardly and including a plurality of spaced tapered folds fixed in position along their length and extending upwardly from and on each side of the front vertical center line of the front portion of said girdle, said folds extending at an angle of about 45 with respect to said center line, and said front portion being stretchable at least horizontally whereby when the front portion is stretched horizontally forces developed across said front portion have resultant components along the folds and vertical components along the center line which vertical components operate to urge said front portion upwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,558,950 Ulman Oct. 27, 1925 2,290,485 Sutter July 21, 1942 2,303,060 Moench Nov. 24, 1942 2,458,279 Levy Jan. 4, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 500,384 Great Britain .t Feb. 8, 1939 

